Justin Sullivan
Elon Musk will let Donald Trump back on Twitter (TWTR) after the former president won an investigation by a billionaire who bought a social media mouse.
Twitter users voted 51.8% to 48.2% to let Trump back social media post-Tesla (TSLA) official conducted a survey that began on Friday night and included more than 15 million votes, according to a tweet from Musk.
Trump, who was banned from Twitter after the attack on the US Capitol in January last year, said that he does not plan to return to work and will instead use his platform Truth Social to communicate.
On Saturday Trump encouraged people in a Social Truth post to vote in a Twitter poll, although he added “but don’t worry, we’re not going anywhere.” Trump also told a meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition on Saturday that he sees “a lot of trouble on Twitter” and wants to keep his platform, according to media reports.
“I don’t see any reason,” Trump said in a return to Twitter. “Truth Social has taken over for a lot of people and I don’t see them coming back to Twitter.”
Trump’s reinstatement on Twitter also comes less than a week after the former president announced he would seek re-election in 2024. Musk also recently reinstated the accounts of media personality Jordan Peterson, satirical website Babylon Bee and humorist and Trump critic. Kathy Griffin.
Trump’s decision to return to Twitter or stay away could be very important for SPAC Digital World Acquisition (NASDAQ: DWAC), which is taking its social media company and app Truth Social public. Shares of DWAC have been under pressure since Musk announced plans to take over Twitter earlier this year over fears that Trump would be allowed to return to the service and return to his more than 88 million followers, instead of the 4.57 million he currently has on Truth Social. Shares of DWAC have fallen 78% since peaking in early March.
The Twitter news also comes ahead of a vote on Tuesday for Digital World’s (DWAC) shareholders to approve a one-year extension to take Trump’s people through a SPAC. DWAC has postponed additional voting six times in recent months because it failed to get enough votes from shareholders. The New York Post reported earlier this week that DWAC CEO Patrick Orlando is calling on as few as 20 shareholders to ensure they vote on Tuesday.
It is unclear what Trump’s return to Twitter means for Meta Platform ( META ) Facebook, which banned Trump at the same time last year as Twitter. Facebook confirmed on Wednesday that it has no plans to reinstate Trump’s account, according to a CBS News report.
Video platform Rumble ( RUM ), which is seen as an alternative to Google’s ( GOOGL ) YouTube, could also see trouble if Trump decides to return to Twitter. Rumble, run by CEO Chris Pavlovski, has gained a lot of attention this year after announcing a partnership with Trump’s former company and his platform Truth Social.
As for Tesla (TSLA), investors have been concerned about Musk’s involvement in Twitter and the amount of time he is spending trying to reshape the media giant and his sale of Tesla shares to raise funds for the $44 billion acquisition of Twitter. Bad publicity for Musk’s decision to let Trump back on the platform could hurt Tesla, whose shares have fallen 21% since Musk took over Twitter late last month.
Wedbush Securities removed Tesla ( TSLA ) from its Top Picks list earlier this month due to the Twitter outcry.
